Scouting America, Pentagon Reach Deal Targeting Trans Policy
Pete Hegseth says agreement requires sex-at-birth registration and dismantles Scouting America’s DEI committee.
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth boasted on February 27 that the Pentagon and Scouting America had reached a settlement preserving their century-old relationship while eliminating pro-diversity initiatives and other policies he has denounced as “woke.”
The U.S. military and the Boy Scouts have long been linked, with the military providing logistical support for the National Boy Scout Jamboree since its inception in 1937. The military has also hosted Scouting programs on bases and maintained close ties with Eagle Scouts — Scouting’s highest rank — many of whom later enlist in the Armed Forces.
Hegseth had previously objected to Scouting America’s inclusion of transgender youth, threatening to sever ties with the organization. Such a move would have barred Scouts from meeting on military bases or receiving logistical support for events like the Jamboree.
Hegseth has since bragged that, under the agreement, Scouting America will require members to register based on their “biological sex at birth” rather than their gender identity. Applicants will have to select their assigned sex at birth and, once accepted, use sex-segregated facilities based on that designation.
While Hegseth framed the agreement as ending trans-inclusive policies, Scouting America said it does not change existing rules and that all youth remain welcome to apply.
“We have transgender people in our program, and we’ll have transgender people in our program going forward,” Scouting America President and CEO Roger Krone told The Associated Press.
Krone told the AP that Scouting America’s application already includes only two boxes regarding assigned sex at birth — suggesting the “change” touted by Hegseth is more of a public relations move than a dramatic policy shift. He also noted that Scouting America maintains a policy requiring sex-segregated intimate spaces for all scouts.
“We do not put boys and girls together in intimate spaces, and in order to do that we need to have some knowledge of who they are,” he said.
Krone said there are “structures” within the organization to accommodate transgender youth, including family troops that serve both genders. He emphasized that nothing in the settlement changes how the organization’s programs are run.
Other changes touted by Hegseth include discontinuing the “Citizenship in Society” merit badge, which conservatives argued required scouts to “realize the benefits of diversity, equity, inclusion, and ethical leadership” before advancing to Eagle Scout. In its place, the organization will introduce a “Military Service” merit badge.
Scouting America also agreed to waive registration fees for the children of active-duty, Guard, and Reserve service members beginning June 1. The organization will dissolve its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) committee to comply with an executive order by President Donald Trump aimed at dismantling DEI programs within the federal government, as well as among contractors and partner organizations that receive federal funding.
The settlement calls for the War Department and Scouting America to realign around a “frontiersman ethos” — preparing young men for military service and supporting recruitment.
It also establishes a “designated liaison” — a Pentagon-appointed uniformed officer or full-time employee — to serve as the primary contact with Scouting America.
While Hegseth has criticized the inclusion of girls in the organization formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America, Scouting America has not agreed to bar them from joining, noting that more than 200,000 girls currently participate in its programs.
In a video posted to X, Hegseth said that in 2012, the “Boy Scouts lost their way and a once great organization became gravely wounded. Diversity, equity and inclusion, DEI, crept in. The name was changed to Scouting America. Girls were accepted.
“The focus on God as the ruler of the universe was watered down to include openness to humanism and earth-centered pagan religions. Scouting became an organization that no longer supported and celebrated boys. They even welcomed the destructive myth of gender fluidity and transgenderism to infiltrate their membership.”
As reported by The Guardian, Hegseth said the Pentagon will “vigorously review” the agreement in six months and withdraw its support if Scouting America fails to comply.
“We hope that doesn’t happen, but it could,” Hegseth said. “Ideally, I believe the Boy Scouts should go back to being the Boy Scouts as originally founded, a group that develops boys into men.”
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